A fresh gait in the walk. Refreshed. But only temporarily because the drive that used to sustain the energy has now waned. Or found a new host, which is everything but a blurry, hazy horizon to them. It’s their drive that drives them now, dictating the pace and direction, only they are held hostage by it and don’t know why. They just follow without question, without hesitation. The drive is now human and them, the abstract, intangible feeling.

As we welcome the new year, let’s take a quick look at the newsmakers and noisemakers in the Philippines for 2010. This is in no particular order.

a. Presidential Elections and Pnoy. This elections made noise not only because it’s the first automated elections in the Philippines, but also because people wanted a new president so badly. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, riding on his parents’ popularity and legacy, convinced many Filipinos that he’s the right man for the job. But it was his love life and the communication booboos of his appointees that caught more public attention than the changes he’s started to institute.

b. Manila Hostage Crisis at the Quirino Grandstand. This is, sadly, the biggest news and noise in the Philippines for 2010 and it’s not good for the Philippines. You only need to google “Manila Hostage Crisis” to see all the sites devoted to the anguish and anger over this hostage drama. I watched this live on TV and I never felt the kind of fear in my life before by just watching something on TV. Here’s part of it:

c. SC decision on the Vizconde Massacre. The unexpected noisemaker for the last month of 2010 is the Supreme Court decision acquitting Hubert Webb and 6 others from the Vizconde Massacre case. Lauro Vizconde’s effort of seeking justice for losing his wife and daughters in a gruesome homicide was all put in vain, no thanks to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

d. Jejemons. The new branding for jologs became mainstream in 2010. This is a subculture in Manila characterized by how they change words in text messages to the point of being incomprehensible. This pop culture group even has its own translator. Click here to try it out.

e. Venus Raj. The 4th runner up in the 2010 Ms. Universe made local noise because of her “major, major” answer in the pageant, criticized by many who thought she could do so much better in the Q&A portion. “Major, major” has become a popular part of Pinoy lingo.

f. Manny Pacquiao. Pacman, the People’s Champ, makes world history by being the first boxer to win 10 world titles in eight weight divisions. He beat Antonio Margarito, who suffered a fractured right orbital bone, to win the vacant junior middleweight belt.

Do you have any addition to the list of Philippine noisemakers and newsmakers for 2010?

A colleague shared these spoof videos of a Hitler movie–one in favor of Manny Villar; the other for Noynoy Aquino—that made me laugh today. Well, this is what the Philippine presidential elections has come to: a big joke.

Question: What is an island on a lake in an island on a lake in an island on an ocean?

Answer: Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano up close

Taal Yacht Club in Talisay, BatangasGetting near Volcano Island

That’s how our tour guide slash bangkero described Taal Volcano as the motorized boat leaves the Taal Yacht Club in Talisay, Batangas. We reached the Volcano Island in minutes and from the boat, we saw the Tagaytay Ridge. “For a change we’re viewing Tagaytay from Taal,” I told my officemates, smiling as our other colleagues took a photo of us from another boat. “I hope this volcano doesn’t act up while we’re here or we’ll swim for our lives.” 😀

the welcome party at the foot of the volcanoso near yet so farno pets allowed in our hike

Taal Volcano, said some online sources, now seems a small volcano but it used to be one of the world’s largest, towering 18,000 feet into the sky. Small as it may seem, the hike to its crater rim wasn’t very easy, but it was enjoyable. We chose to do the walking trail instead of riding horses, which we felt would take away the fun in the experience. We were so right. The hike took about an hour and we stopped several times to either take photos or simply enjoy the view.

enjoying the view after a long hiketaking it all in

The view from the rim was breathtaking (after all that walking? why not! Haha) as much as it was calming. Not content with the the view, we decided to hike down to the crater lake and yes, we swam in its sulfuric glory. Haha. 🙂 It was good for the skin, the tour guide said, but it was bad for the clothes. Haha! I didn’t mind it—the experience of swimming in a volcano’s crater lake made it all worth it. I just wished I could kayak my way around it, like I did in Coron, Palawan.

rushing to swim in the lakethe island on a lake in an island...

Our stomachs were our guide to stop swimming and take the hike back up to the crater rim and then down to the foot of the volcano. The boat ride back to Taal Yacht Club was like a roller coaster ride, no thanks to the nasty waves that made my officemates repent for their sins on the spot and prayed to all the saints they know 🙂

I got quite scared alright but I chose to enjoy the moment while it lasted: I sat near the front end of the boat, talking all the face-slapping from the waves, occasionally closing my eyes as I listened to the mad waters, as if asking for more, telling myself that no amount of exhaustion or worry or fear should take away the fun in this nature adventure. And boy did I enjoy it.

The nurse at the pre-anesthesia room was reading the classified ads. She’s looking for a new job, maybe for an opportunity abroad, I told myself while observing her from my bed, waiting to be brought to the operating room.

“What’s your nickname?” the anesthesiologist said as she reads through my chart page by page, and interrupting my amusement for the nurse openly looking for a job while at work and with doctors and nurses around her.

“Barry, doc” I said, smiling.

“Ah from your surname,” she mused, as if to convince herself. I affirmed her with another smile.

“Okay Barry, it’s your time.”

That didn’t sound right at first, but she’s right, it was my time. I had long wanted the tonsillectomy to be over and done with. But as two nurses were carting me off to the operating room, I realized how much trust a patient needs to have on doctors to allow them to gamble on an operation. There are risks involved; my doctor was patient enough to explain to me all the possible complications, the most extreme of which is death. That doesn’t help build up the trust, does it? 🙂

I recall him trying to reassure me: “I’ve done this procedure for over 20 years and none of the complications has happened to any of my patients.” I recall just replying with a nod and a smile—to reassure myself more than to acknowledge his declaration of expertise.

So there I was on Valentine’s Day, lying in my hospital bed, being carted away to the operating room, after having mustered all the courage to trust my doctors for my first major operation under general anesthesia—my break-up with my tonsils. 😛

My ENT doctor welcomed me with a pat on my shoulder. Good boy, eh? Then one of the nurses played “Killing Me Softly” on the radio as I lay on the operating table and nurses were putting all the contraptions to my body.

“How apt,” I told myself, while trying to remember the sequence of events in my mind, and negating the song by singing Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” in my head. I’m serious. I was really singing it in my mind. And doing this helped me calm down until the anesthesiologist placed the oxygen mask on my face and I felt groggy and very, very sleepy.

The next thing I knew, the doctors and nurses were waking me up. “Barry, it’s over. It’s okay now. We’ll bring you to the recovery room.”Shit,I thought it was St. Peter and his angels waking me up as there was only blinding light when I tried to open my eyes. I’m dead, I thought. 🙂

I woke up again and saw myself in the recovery room. I saw other patients still sleeping and the nurses busily attending to each one. After over an hour in the recovery room, I was brought back to my room. Before sunset one of the doctors checked on me, then just before leaving she said that people in the operating room found me quite amusing.

“When we woke you up and told you that you’ll be brought to the recovery room, you smiled at us,” she said.

I smiled, unable to ask: “I did?” But in my mind I continued the thought: “It must be Bon Jovi’s song, doc.” 🙂

Today as I write this I’m eating vanilla ice cream, still unable to speak clearly, and working from home for a week. It’s finally over and done with, my first major surgery. Now I think I’m ready to be 30. 😀

There’s nothing like the feeling of a fresh start or an opportunity to build up on what we’ve already accomplished. Starting anew in the year of the Metal Tiger is no different, despite forecasts that this is going to be a more challenging year, tumultuous even. Here below are things we can do to start the year right and help keep the good vibes throughout the year. It doesn’t hurt to be reminded of things we know but often forget, right?

De-clutter your network

Oxford Dictionary chose the word “unfriend” as word of the year in 2009. Unfriend is used in social networking sites when you take a person out of your list of friends. We can take the cue from this new word to learn that some people can be excess baggage in our lives, the kind who don’t matter to us, whose opinions we don’t value. Sometimes, the best favor we can give ourselves is to cut ties with those who don’t matter so that we can spend more time and energy with those that really mean more to us.

De-cluttering your network can also simply mean cleaning up your email, or emptying your computer trash bin, or throwing away old photos and keeping only those that you like or can share with friends on Facebook. So empty up some spaces from the past to give room for your new blessings this year.

Get started on wellness

Coming from the food fests we actively participated in during the holiday season, it’s time to sweat those unwanted love handles so we become fit to face this year’s challenges head on. Losing weight is not just about looking good, but also about having the energy so we can work hard and play hard.

So take up a fitness activity that you can enjoy with family and friends. Try running as a starter—it’s easy to do and you can enjoy the high from running like an athlete around a race track like Ultra, or enjoy early morning fresh air while running around UP Sunken Garden.

And when you’ve trained enough, try the 3K or 5K run in the upcoming Unilab Run United for Wellness on March 7 at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tag along your kids, relatives, and friends to this first corporate-initiated public run that’s a health and wellness family day, too.

Be more conscious of your choices

From instant noodles to cellphone models, the choices can be dizzying so before you get lost in the choosing, be clear with what you really need. Sometimes, some features in the items we want are only nice to have but have no functional benefit. Sometimes, we get so charmed by an ad’s promise we jumped into a purchase only to realize that we didn’t get the expected benefit, or we don’t need the product at all.

So be a wiser consumer by looking for a cheaper but quality alternative. But affordability does not always translate to quality, so make sure you know and trust the manufacturer so you can be assured of not only quality, but also safety in the products you buy.

Indeed, making the right choices can be easy if we know how to ask the right questions: Sino’ng may gawa n’yan? Sinuri ba nang tama ‘yan? Maingat bang ginawa ‘yan? Subok na ba ‘yan?

Beef up your savings

Every year has its unexpected visitors such as the super typhoons last year or an unforeseen event in the family. While we can never be fully prepared for these occurrences, we can at least give ourselves a bigger chance at overcoming the impact by having the means to move on and go on with life.

So remember to save up more this year and build a bigger nest egg for emergencies down the line. Try 10 percent of your monthly income or develop alternative income streams such as freelance work online, a weekend part-time job, or even a home-based business like buy-and-sell.

Saving up and growing your money doesn’t just mean being financially ready; to some extent it’s about having peace of mind, isn’t it?

Before you worry over things outside of your control, work on those you have direct control of—like your health, your finances, your support system, and your attitude towards life. Happy new year!